Really Late Craft Post: What I Made Over the Holidays

With all the craziness that happened over the holiday season, I did get a few things done. Nothing like I planned, but well... I guess you do get laughed at if you plan. 

One I did get done was for my sweet 90 yr old friend. 

These are done in the hoop on the embroidery machine. This one is from Lovely Leaf Applique (Etsy store) and the small tag was from Buggalena Embroidery. I made the large pouch with a D ring attached to the ribbon on the side and made the wristlet strap on my regular sewing machine. The smaller pouch just has a swivel hook on the end of the ribbon. All this was done with scrap fabric!

The next one I got done was a towel for a cousin who just got married.

 The embroidery file was from Hoop Mama Designs (and was free during the season but is no more but available for purchase at her website). The towel was a microfiber towel. Blue and Yellow (or gold in this case) taken from the colors of her wedding.

A couple of other projects rounds it out...

Eye mask:

This was actually a play mask from Ohana Applique Designs but changed it quite a bit for my eye mask. I flipped the eyes to look closed (a little bit more wrangling than that, but you get the idea) and then made the front from felt and quilting fabric and the back was made with satin. It is then filled with smooth tiny beads for a cooling and relaxing feel. 

Trinket tray

I don't know the designer for the tray (I got it free) but the letter design at the bottom of the tray is from Designs by JuJu. It can be unsnapped flat or partially snapped for a partial tray or fully snapped for a full, but small tray.

Lastly...

I made myself some pattern weights. The top two were from Buggalena Designs. It was made differently than I did as it required you to use non-fray fabric, but I thought that if I flipped it a bit while making it I could make it out of quilting cotton and have no raw edges. The one that says Pins is also a pin cushion. All have metal washers (get at a farm store) to create the weight. The 3 underneath are smaller and I used other designs I had on hand. The back is foldover elastic (which is part of the original design) to keep things in place and to give something to hold onto. FYI, I used unicorns, peacock feathers and star wars characters since you probably can't see them clearly. The horn on the unicorn is iridescent scale vinyl and the ears are glitter vinyl. 

So have you been crafty lately?

Arts and Crafts: Creative Maker Case

With everything going on, my crafting has also suffered. However, I was able to get one pressie done before it was due! 

It is a case for my dad. The patten is from Sew Sweetness (affiliate link) and is the Creative Maker Case. The way it is written it is made for those that want to carry a lot of pencils, markers or just create a bunch of pockets. I would say to alter the pattern, it would be an intermediate project, but if you make it as written, it is surprisingly easy.

The outer shell is made with navy canvas and the inner parts are made with mostly quilting cotton fabric. I added a handle on the top spine with 5/8" nylon webbing (which was not a part of the pattern, but he likes handles) and the Bronco logo is a machine embroidery design. I also added a back pocket and made pockets that I hope satisfy what he needs in a case. This is the medium (approx: 7-1/2” long x 9-3/4” tall) which will just barely hold an ipad (average size) and easily hold most ebook tablets. It is also a double zip closure.

The corner flap has a magnetic catch to keep everything in and the small blue line in the spine is fold over elastic which can hold a pen. I also have slip pockets, zippered pocket and a mesh pocket. I hope there is enough! 😁 

I really enjoyed making this one and it was easier than I thought. The hardest part was deciding what I needed to put into it (pocket wise). I think if I make another for him I will lengthen it just slightly and perhaps add more flaps to the slip pockets. 

Hope he likes it. *crosses fingers*

🏈

Arts and Crafts Corner: Holiday Crafting

I've been complaining that the holidays come WAY too soon, but in crafting it can begin as early as July (Christmas in July... sound familiar?) to get everything done. I've been doing a few things and I thought I'd share.

 The first thing is actually for me. Had to try this out and see how it works. 

EOS holder:

This holds those EOS lip balms. I could not resist this one. Too funny! :)

I had mentioned that I used the glow in the dark embroidery on my wreath. I also did that to these unicorn skelanimals. I tried to get a pic of them. If you squint just right... you may be able to see it (you might have to click on the pic to make it bigger)...

I also made some key FOBs for the vet's office:

For the vets, vet techs and office workers. They get to decide who gets what... although some are more obvious than others. :)

And last for today is some key FOBs I made for a cousin and his boys. They love the ninja turtles and so I made all the colors. They get to chose who gets what color. :)

So, anyone crafting for the holidays already? I'm not done yet... *wipes sweat off of brow* ;) Will have more of these posts as I start to take pics. :) I'll try to do better pics.

💝

Got a question as to what to do besides donations. Here are some actions:

1. Call Senator Lindsey Graham's office at (202) 224-5972, push 2 if you get the recording. Tell the staff member "I support Senator Graham's investigation into Russia's participation in the election of Donald Trump."

I have not been able to get a hold of someone yet. Both mailboxes have been full as of this writing.

2. Call the House Oversight Committee tell them you support the call for a bipartisan review of Trump's financials and conflicts of interest. (202) 225-5074.

Still haven't been able to get it through... yet.

3. Call Paul Ryan's office and take his survey about the Affordable Care Act. You'll hear a short pause (sometimes the dead air is more than a minute), then press 2 to opt into the survey. You'll a short speech about Ryan's stance, then press 1 to support the ACA. (202)-225-0600. You don't have to talk to anyone here, it is all a recording.

4. Find your representatives. Calling is best as I posted a link (HERE) who is a Republican staffer and tells you how you get heard. House Representatives: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ and US Senate: http://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/

5. Sign the petition for Standing Rock at the ACLU's site: HERE. The DOJ's comment line is: (202) 353 1555 

The fact that the mailboxes are full. That is good. Keep trying!

Arts and Crafts: In The Hoop Projects

I started doing in the hoop projects recently with the embroidery machine I stole borrowed. ;) Don't worry, I'm allowed to steal borrow it since I have been "commissioned" to do projects for the real owner. :D

This is all done on the hoop in an embroidery machine. You just add and subtract things (like the appliqué part) as it sews. It sounds complicated, but following the instructions for this one was easy. I just had to make sure I didn't skip a step which I almost did a couple of times after the first one. I get lazy and try to lean on my terrible memory for such things. Not good, but I made it through! This design is by Disorderly Threads and it was easier than it looks. It was my first in the hoop (ith) project that I've done. I think my favorite one is the fall leaves one in the front. 

Occasionally the designer at Disorderly Threads gives us a freebie and this was the next ith project that I made.

I added the bit on the back from another embroidery file I had.

It came out to only be 3.5" by # 3.5" so I thought it would make a good holder for my emergency information paper (it barely fit). I guessed at the placement for the back (I had to embroider the emergency information inside part first) and I can see I was a little off. Guess I need more practice at placement. It still worked out though.

I have one other pattern by her I want to make but haven't yet. I can say that I have enjoyed making these and they are fast projects. A beginner can do these, just be mindful of the steps and there should be no problems. All steps are numbered and there are plenty of pics to keep you straight. 

So have you been crafty lately?